Bottle cap



May 27, 1947. T. F. SAFFADY BOTTLE CAP Filed Jan. es, 1943 iff, tyr- Patented May 27, 1947 BTTLE CAP Thomas F. Saffady, Detroit, Mich., assignor to Sav-Way Industries, Inc., Warren Township,

Macomb County, Michigan Mich.,

a corporation of Application January 28, 1943, Serial No. 473,833

2 Claims.

My invention relates to sealing caps for bottles and the like. y

More particularly, the invention contemplates the production of a plastic cap which may be made of either thermo-setting or thermo-reactive plastics since my invention does not require that the cap be applied to the bottle while in a softened or pliant state.

Thermo-plastic caps, other than relatively soft rubber or very elastic caps, presently known in the art, are of a construction which require application of the cap to the bottle while the cap is in a softened or pliant condition, the cap undergoing setting or hardening after being vapplied to the bottle. An objectionable feature of such caps is that they are not practically useable in the conventional capping machines generally used by bottling plants and moreover the cold flow characteristics of such plastics usually cause them to become relatively loose after being mounted. Also for certain capping operations, such as for beer bottles, the capped bottle must be subjected to a pasteurizing temperature of the order of 150 F. or more, which tends to soften the applied cap and results in release of pressure from the bottle.

Presently known caps preformed of thermoreactive plastics are usually too brittle to be stretched over the beaded neck of a conventional beverage bottle and are incapable of being rendered temporarily soft or pliant after being preformed.

It is therefore among the chief objects of my invention to provide a plastic cap which may be readily applied in effective sealing engagement with a bottle neck without the necessity of stretching or rendering it temporarily pliant.

Another object is the provision of a cap which may be made of thermo-plastic and which, after being applied io the bottle, may be subjected to heat without affecting its sealing relationship with the bottle.

Another object is the provision of a plastic bottle cap which may be applied to the bottle by use of the conventional automatic capping machines generally in use for the application of conventional metal caps.

Another object is the provision of a cap which may be so economically made as to render it generally available for capping beverage bottles requiring relatively cheap caps and which may be made of any one of an unusually large range of plastic materials.

Another .object of the invention is to provide on the cap means for retaining a constricting ring against escape from the cap either before, during or afterY the capping operation.

Still further and subordinate advantages are inherent in my invention and how those as well as the objects hereinabove specifically pointed out are achieved will be best understood from the following detailed description of a presently preferred eXemplar of the invention, for which purposes I shall refer to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a top plan View;

Fig. 2 is a vertical section showing the cap prior to application to the bottle neck;

Fig. 3 is a vertical section showing the cap applied to a bottle neck;

Fig. 4 is a bottom plan View;

Fig. 5 is a plan view of the ring element;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary section showing a variational form of cap;

Fig. 'l is a fragmentary section of a further variational form; and

Fig. 8 is a section on line 8-8 of Fig. 7.

In the drawings I show a cap which may be made of any of the well known thermo-setting or thermo-reactive plastics, as by molding, the cap having an end Wall 5 and an integral cylindric skirt 6 terminating in a peripheral bead 1 having a beveled outer side surface 8 and an annular groove 9 between the beveled portion and the bottom edge l0 for the purpose to be described.

For the purpose of rendering the'peripherally beaded portion of the skirt radially flexible, it is serrated, a, plurality of circumferentially spaced V-shaped slits ll being provided in the bead, which slits open through the bottom of the bead and terminate in the relatively thinner skirt portion slightly above the bead. The cap is made of a plastic material which provides sufficient flexibility of the bead segments provided by the slits to be constricted about the neck flange F of the bottle neck N to be capped, the ends of the segments being drawn together when the bead is so constricted.

A flexible, compressible sealing disc l2, such as of cork or a suitable plastic, may be provided as a lining for the end wall 5 to be compressed between the end wall and the end of the bottle neck as shown in Fig. 3. It will be understood, of course, that in lieu of employing a disc for the lining l2, the inner surface of the end wall may be coated with a suitable plastic.

So'that the peripheral portion of the cap may be constricted about the neck flange F below the plane of maximum diameter of the flange, I dispose a ring I around the skirt. As the ring is initially formed and assembled, the ring is positioned above the skirt portion which fits over the maximum diameter portion of the neck flange, being held against accidental escape over the top end of the cap `by a plurality of small radial projections I6, here' shown as four in number, ex tending outwardly from the skirt. The ring is of a diameter which will snugly encompass the skirt and pass downwardly over the point of maximum diameter of the neck flange, and is initially applied to the cap before the capping operation'. To so mount the ring on the cap it is forced downwardly over the projections I6, causing sufficient inward flexure of the skirt to permit the ring to pass downwardly over the projections. I show ring I5 as being made of metal, although plastic rings will suffice.

As the cap is applied to a bottle neck, the cap is positioned atop the end of the neck and the neck containing the thus positioned cap is forced into the collet of a capping machine (not shown) or the collet is forced downwardly over the cap, as the case may be, pushing theI cap downwardly so that' the end wall 5 compresses the liner I2 against the end of the bottle neck and the skirt is positioned around the flanged neck F. Then the collet-forces the ring I5 downwardly over the outwardly and downwardly beveled portion 8` of the bead, thus constricting the bead segments about the neck flange below its pointof maximum diameter, the ring finally resting within the groove 9 as shown in Fig. 3 and'against the lower rim of the beadl to positively prevent accidental escape. The lower rim portion of tliebead, being of increased diameter, is sufficient to prevent downward` escape of the ring even without the groove 9. The angle of. the taper 8 depends upon the radius of the lower half of the neck iiange' F, it preferably being suflicient to force the interior surface of the 'bead 'I against the lower portion of the neck flange. As initially formed, the inner surface of the skirt G from the point' which ts over the maximum diameter portion of the neck flange to the bottom peripheral edge of the skirt is substantially straight whereby to be readily applied over the neck flange before the peripheral portion is constricted.

To remove the cap a conventional cap removing tool may be applied'tc` lift the peripheral bead, which will sufciently release the ring to permit the cap to be removed.

In Fig. 6 I show a variational form of cap.l I-Iere the skirt portion 6a, which encompassesthe maximum diameter portion of the neck flange F, isv of relatively thin sec-tion to render itfsufiiciently exible toenable the serrated bead 'Id to be easily constricted to conform to the lower portion F of the neck flange. Here the ring I5 is normally or initially positioned nearer the upper end or top of the cap, being held thereon by the small radial projections I6', and after the ring isforced downwardly over the taper 8a, itrests against the fiange 29 of the bead'instead of resting in an annular groove as before described.

In Figs. 7 and 8 I show another variational form of my closure device wherein the construction is like that of Fig. 6 except that the inner surface of the skirt periphery is fluted, as shown at 30, to compensate for irregularities or lack of uniformity in the outer surface of the neck flange F.

While I have resorted to considerable detail in explaining this specic adaptation of my invention, I wish it understood that, in its broader` aspects as defined by the appended claims, the invention is subject to various modifications.

I claim:

l. Av closure for a bottle neck having an external ne'ckiiangef of outwardly curved cross-section, comprising a cap having a flexible circular skirt composedl of hard plastic material and being constrictable about the neck flange below its point of maximum diameter, said skirt at and adjacent its bottom periphery having a vertically uted inner surface and a smooth outer surface and ring means for constricting the skirt about said neck flange.

2. A closure for 'a bottle neck having a marginal flange cf outwardly curved cross section, corn-v prising a cap having an end Wall, a circular, flange-encompassing skirt whose inner surface is straight in cross-section and'whose outer surface adjacent its bottom edge slopes outwardly and downwardly to provide av cam surface, the portion of the skirt medially between its'ends being adapted to encompass the maximum diameter portion of the ange and being of relatively thinner section than adjacent portions of the skirt, and ringmeans engageable against'th'e cam surface to force the bottom end portion of the skirt radially inwardly.

THOMAS F. SAFFADY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,258,465 Ritter Mar. 5, 1918 2,099,056 Ferngren Nov. 16, A1937v 1,430,685 Sampson Oct.v.3,-19'22 662,812 Perry' Nov. 27, 1900 835,366 Purcell Nov. 6, 1906 1,441,742.` OiBrien Jan. 9, 1923 1,545,227 Baltzley July. 7,1925 1,758,696 Graham May 13; 1930 1,985,258 Mauser -Dec. 25, 1'9'34 2,186,518l Buono Jan, 9,1940'. 1,862,620 Graham June`14, 1932 824,341 Cordes f June 14, 1932 1,965,713 Shaw July'10,v1934 1,093,735 Shapiro .Apr; 21,1914 2,304,532l Box-ley Dec. 8, 1942 FOREIGN' PATENTS Number Country Datel 471,834 Great Britain v Sept. 13, 1937 '465,368f Great- Britain ,-Y.- May-6,- 1932 100,096y Australia Jan. 15, 1937 

